Railroad-rail joint



Jap. 2o, 1925.

J. HIMMELSBACH RAILROADl RAIL JOINT Fired Aug. 1e, 192s @Hernani Patented Jan. 2), 1925.

UNITED STATES RAILROAD-RAIL JOINT.

Application filed August 16, 1923. Serial No. 657,679..

To all whom t may concern Beit known that I, J o HN HIMMELSBACH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of lVayne, State ofMichigan, have invented a certain new and useful lmprovementin Railroad-Rail Joints, and declare the following to be a full, clear-,and exact description of the saine, such as'will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use'the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to railroad joints, and the object of the invention is to provide a rail joint which will allow expansion or contraction of the rails by heat or cold without loosening the joint. Another object of the invention is to provide a railroad rail joint which may be easily assembled or disassembled and which, when assembled, will rigidly hold the rails in longitudinal alignment. Another object of the invention is to provide a railroad rail joint comprising a plate formed integral with or secured to each rail and adapted to overlap the next succeeding rail, a. series of bolts extending through the plates and rails and being secured in position by a tapered pin. These objects and the several novel features of the invention are hereinafter more. fully described and claimed, and the preferred form of construction of a rail joint embodying my invention by which these objects may be attained is shown in the accompanying drawings in 'which- F ig. 1 is a side elevation of a railroad joint embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of F 1.

l* 1g. 3 Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a. detail of the manner in which the rails as assembled.

As shown in Fig. 1, two rails 1 and 2 are provided having webs 3 and 4 and base flanges 5 and 6. A plate 7 having a fla-nge 8 is formed integral with, welded, or otherwise secured to the web 4 and flange 6 of the rail 2, and a plate 9 having a flange 10 is likewise secured to the web 3 and flange 5 of the rail 1 as shown in Fig. 2. These plates extend from the ends of the rails 1 and 2 as shown in Fig. 4. A pair of apertures 11 and 12 are provided through the web to is a. section taken on line 3 3 of i receive the pins 13 and 1 4 and the web 3 and plate S) are provided with apertures`15 and lfto receive the pins 17 and 18. The plate 7 is provided with elongated apertures 19 and 2() adapted to register with the apertures 15 and 16 and the pins 17 and 18 may be inserted through the apertures 16 and 19 and apertures 15 yand 20 as shown in Figs. 1 and The plate 9 is also provided with elongated apertures 21 and 22, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 andy 2, which register with the apertures 11 and 12, and the pins 13 and 1,4 are inserted through the apertures 11 and 21 and 12 and The pins 13, 14, 17 and 18,a-s shownin Fig. 2, are provided with apertures 23 through which a tapered pin may be inserted, the apertures in the pins being of graduated sizes to lit the tapered pin 24, and for the purpose of assembly, these pins are numbered by means of a stamp in consecutive order so that the correct pin may be inserted in the correct aperture. This tapered pin 24 is provided with a head 25 by which it may be driven into position or withdrawn from the apertures .3. A locking pin 26 extends through an aperture 27 provided in the end of the tapered pin 24 and a cotter pin 28 prevents removal of the pin 26, the pin 26 being provided with a coiled spring 29 to hold it in position with the cotter pin 28 engaging against the pin 25. A coiled spring 40 may be utilized on the tapered pin 24 between the last pin 14 and the locking pin 26 as shown in Fig. 1. This spring 40 tends' to prevent loosening of the taper pin 24 in the pins 13, 14, 17 and 18. Preferably, I provide spring washers 91 beneath the heads of the pins 13, 14, 17 and 18.

When assembled, the rails may expand or contract due to temperaturechange but are held rigidly in alignment, Expansion or contraction is permitted by the elongated apertures 19 and 20 on one side and the elongated apertures 21 and 22 on the opposite side. To disassemble the joints, the cotter pin 28 is removed allowing removal of the locking pin 26 at which time by means of the head 25 the tapered pin may be withdrawn from the pins 13, 14, 17 and 18 which allows these pins to be removed and disconnects the joint.

From the foregoing description it becomes evident that the device is very simple and eliicient in operation, may be easily asseinbled or disassembled, is of very strong construction and provides a joint in Which the rails may expand or contract without loosening the parts or affecting the alignment of the rails.

Having thus briefly described my invention, its utility and inode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is- Y 1. A rail joint for connecting the abut` ting ends of two rails comprising a plate secured to each rail end of the respective 0pposite sides of the lwebs thereof and extend-l ing beyond the respective rail end, the extending ends of the plates having elongated apertures and each plate and rail web to which it is attached having circular apertures, fastening pins extending through and fitting the apertures of the rail web and the attached plate end and through the apertures of the extending end of the other plate, said fastening pins having apertured ends, a tapered pin extending through the projecting ends of the said fastening pins, and yieldable means tending to dranv the tapered pin to a seat in the apertures of the several fastening pins.

2. A rail joint for connecting rail ends comprising the combination with rails having ends adapted to be secured in abutting relation, of a plate secured to each rail end on the respective opposite sides thereof and extending beyond the respective rail end, the extending end of each plate having elongated apertures and the attached portion of the plate and respective web also having apertures, fastening pins exteiiding'through the apertures of the attached plate and web and through the elongated apertures of the other plate in each instance, the projectingV ends of the fastening pinsy having transverse apertures, a Wedge pin extending through said transverse apertures, a pin in the small end of the wedge, and a spring between said pin and the adjacent fastening pin tending i to draw the Wedge pin to a seat in the apertures of the fastening pins.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

.roi-iN HiMMnLsBAoH. 

